Homecoming
by TokyoJunk
Summary: The way things ended just didn’t sit right with Rikku. When opportunity knocks in the form of a lost friend, Rikku makes it her mission to achieve a fairytale ending for Yuna. Tikku. Post FFX-2: Choosing the ending where Tidus doesn’t come back.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Yuna hadn't said a word since coming back on the ship. We were all worried when she came on with her eyes cast down. The only other time I saw her like that was after Tidus decided to jump. It was a wonder back then that she didn't break down hysterically. But Yuna was a strong woman. If anyone could withstand the pain of losing something very precious to them, and still be able to smile for everyone else's sake, it was Yuna.

Still, I wish she had her own happy ending. We went on this journey for the sole purpose of finding Tidus. After finding that sphere our journey to find Tidus morphed into a mission to prevent an embittered ghost from unleashing death and destruction on Spira. We were soldiers again and Yuna was called upon to make another sacrifice. She did the unimaginable; from tricking Shuyin into thinking she was Lenne, to fighting those she loved and treasured as they were possessed by an enraged ghost. Yuna had managed to endure all of that all for the survival of Spira. And what does she get in the end? She was rewarded with the cruel reality of never bringing the love of her life back.

It just didn't seem fair.

A few hours after everything had gone down, everyone seemed locked in their own little world. Shinra was actively typing away at his station while Buddy and Brother were at the controls, driving the ship. I looked towards Paine and saw her staring at the floor. I could never get her to tell me what she's thinking without getting shot down with a cold glare. I, on the other hand, was still a bit jittery. After defeating Vegnagun I was feeling ready to kick more ass and take names as Paine would so eloquently put it. But of course, with our main foe down for the count we went and treated our wounded. Gippal was pretty bent out of shape, broken ribs, a dislocated knee, a few scrapes here and there. I did my best healing him. Unfortunately white magic can't fix broken bones, so I conjured up a mixture of potions that'll help speed up the healing process. It looked like the leader of the machine faction was going to be out for a little while. Baralai, the poor cutie, was weak from being possessed, but still, he managed. Nooj was the least hurt, much to Paine's relief. Not that I would ever voice that opinion since I value my life. I once caught her checking Nooj out and suffice to say she threatened to skin me alive.

After dropping Gippal, Nooj, and Baralai off to their respective locations, Buddy suggested that we go to our homes and rest.

"You guys saved the world," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Don't you think you deserve a break?"

I was all for it, if only to check up on Gippal and tease him about being his knight in shining armor, But Yuna insisted we keep going.

No one objected.

No one dared.

We knew better than to question a woman mourning of a broken heart.

That was about three hours ago. Buddy said he was picking up weak sphere waves from some place or other, but we needed to fly around a bit more in order for him to pinpoint the location. I softly bounced on the balls of feet, trying to contain my energy.

"Yunie's been long," I said.

"Let her cope," Paine said, breaking off her staring contest with the floor and looked at me.

I pouted at her blank face. "I know, but shouldn't one of us go and check on her?"

Paine crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged. "She just needs time alone with her thoughts, Rikku. She doesn't want anyone pestering her."

I walked up to her and tilted my head a bit. "How do you know that?" I asked. "For all we know the poor girl would want a shoulder to cry on."

"Rikku—"

"I'm going to check on her," I said as I made my way towards the cabin.

* * *

"Mish Rikku, what can I do for you?"

I greeted Barkeep with a smile as the door slid shut behind me.

"Nothing for now," I said. I looked up towards our sleeping quarters. "Is Yunie up there?"

"Yesh, she is resting."

I nodded and made my way up the spiral stairs. I expected to see Yuna in bed with her face buried in her pillow, instead I saw the former summoner standing, staring out the window at the clear blue sky. She stood in her trademark stance, her arms behind her back, hands clasped.

I slowly made my way towards her.

"If you want, we can go up to the deck for some fresh air."

To my surprise Yuna turned to look at me and smirked.

"Sure, I'd like that."

I blinked, not sure what to do next. After all she'd been through I thought she would be in tears. I was prepared to comb my fingers through her short dark strands as she cried in my lap in an attempt to comfort her. I didn't expect her to look so content.

I led her down the stairs and as we made our way towards the elevator, my mind tried to wrap itself around the concept that Yuna was not going into hysterics over not having Tidus back. I mean, if I'd lost the chance to bring back the love of my life I'd be torn up inside. I wouldn't want to get up for days, let alone live. So it's a wonder why Yuna hasn't broken down yet. Maybe she's waiting for the right time to do it all. After all, she could just be in shock.

When the elevator doors opened, we were immediately greeted with a gust of cool air.

I opened my arms wide, letting the wind run through me as it danced through my hair and puffed up my sleeves. I loved coming to the deck. The sun, the wind, and the speed of the airship made me feel as though I had grown wings and taken off in flight. The deck was the perfect place to think about problems because your mind gets caught up in the moment.

That was the reason why I thought Yuna should come up here. Maybe some fresh air would clear her mind.

I looked towards Yuna and saw her staring out towards the sky. She still had a soft smile on her lips, but something about it didn't seem right.

"Want to talk about it?" I asked, tilting my head a bit.

I saw her blink, as though she were coming back from her thoughts. She smirked and shook her head.

"There's nothing really to talk about."

I frowned.

"But I know there's something wrong, Yunie. You've been smiling so much I'm beginning to worry."

"What's so wrong with smiling?"

"Well." I chewed my bottom lip. "You smile when you're happy, not when you're sad."

Yuna looked down at her feet and sighed.

"Should I be sad? We managed to save Spira once again; I don't think that's something to be sad about."

"I know, but aren't you sad about not finding—"

_Him. _I wanted to say it, but my mouth quickly clamped itself shut when Yuna looked at me. It wasn't the first time her eyes had ever darkened like that. I remember those eyes on the day Tidus decided to jump. Her eyes looked as though they were drowning in this thick sadness.

She turned away from me and I felt my heart sink into my stomach. I wanted to apologize for bringing him up, for being so insensitive. But before I could open my mouth to do so, Yuna spoke.

"I spoke to the fayth."

My forehead frowned a bit in surprise.

"What happened?" I asked.

Yuna didn't bother looking at me.

"He offered to bring him back," she said. My eyes widened. I reached a hand towards her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.

"And what did you say?" I whispered.

She looked over her shoulder, her eyes holding back tears.

"I rejected his offer," she whispered back.

I let her shoulder go and took a step back, my eyes wide in disbelief. Yuna covered her mouth and began to cry.

"I-I'm so sorry, Riku."

I couldn't believe it. I couldn't fathom why she would reject a once in a life time offer like that. After all we've been though in order to find him. After the sacrifice he made to save her. I felt angry. I felt betrayed _for_ him. All my emotions seemed to bubble up inside and climb up my throat. They left a sour taste of disgust in my mouth.

"Why?" I whispered. Yuna sniffed, wiping her tears as she tried to compose herself a bit in order to hear me.

I hands balled up into fists to keep them from shaking. "Why?!" I couldn't hold it back anymore. The anger I felt soon made its way out. "Was his sacrifice made in vain? Did our journey mean nothing to you?! "

"It was closure."

"Closure? Closure?!" I barked a laugh because at this point it all sounded like a cruel joke. "Yuna, this journey started because I showed you someone who looked like him in a sphere!"

"I k-know." She cleared her throat. "And when I think about it now, our journey quickly became a selfish one."

Yuna turned around and walked towards the edge of the ship. She looked out towards the passing clouds. "Rikku, though our journey started simple, it quickly morphed from something personal to saving the world." I felt my anger quickly deflate as she looked towards me with puffy eyes left from crying. The guilt I immediately felt dragged me down and humbled me for a moment.

"I realized that my problem was nothing compared to what we were dealing with," she said.

"But you always do this," I said, walking up to her and taking her hand in both of mine. "You always put others before yourself. Why is it that you can't have a little bit of happiness?" I begged.

She furrowed her brow in confusion. "But don't you see that I am happy?" I let go of her hand, surprised. "I realized something during this trip," she began, "that sphere hunting with you and everyone else has been such wonderful experience."

She smiled softly and her eyes took on this gentle air that made my own heart skip a beat.

"It was the first time I've been on a journey where there was excitement and happiness instead of a haunting sense of dread." She looked up at the sky, the wind blowing her hair out of her face. "I was able to finally break out of my shell and leave my summoner past behind."

I didn't know what to say. It was true that this journey was completely different from the pilgrimage. Back then the sense of dread would always haunt us, even in the moments where we were happy and had a glimmer of hope.

"Remember the one time we had a small concert up here. Even barkeep left his post to join us." She smiled fondly. "There was music, dancing, and stories. We were all in such high spirits." She laughed which took me by surprised.

I remembered that night. It was after Yuna gave a successful concert at the Thunder Plains to give the people of Spira hope through the horrible time with Vegnagun.

"I found myself thinking a lot that night when everyone was dozing off." She closed her eyes. "I thought to myself, I'm so happy. I never want this to end. I hope we never find him."

I had nothing to say to that. I was afraid that the hurt I was feeling at the moment, the sound of my heart shattering into a million pieces would echo and grow into shrieks of anger. I couldn't understand why she was feeling this way.

"I don't mean to sound like a horrible person, but you have to understand that at that moment, I realized that I didn't need Tidus to be happy." She opened her eyes and turned around to look at me.

"I was finally able to let him go and set myself free."

Oh, I see how it was. "Set yourself free, huh? I didn't know that his love for you was such a burden to carry."

"Rikku I didn't mean it like—"

"Because you know, he sacrificed his life for you and that idea is just too bothersome to think about."

"It's not like that!" I could tell she was getting flustered because her cheeks were beginning to get pink.

"Then what is it like? You're telling me that you're willing to forget about the one person you ever loved. Oh wait, you don't love him because you're willing to forget him!"

"I did love him and I've made my peace with it!" Her bottom lip trembled. "I just can't live in the past forever Rikku."

I couldn't believe that she was over him. No one could easily forget their first love. No one could easily give up!

"How can you say that? How can you mean that after everything! Everything has been about him up until this point, how can you leave him behind like this?!"

Her eyes grew dark again, only this time there was a tint of anger washing over their surface.

"I will never forget what he did. He sacrificed himself not only for me, but for everyone in Spira. Just because I want to move on doesn't mean I loved him any less."

I blinked back my tears. I was so disappointed in her. I had the vision that she would get with Tidus, get married, have some kids, and live happily ever after. That was their story and it wasn't coming true. She let the chance of ever being happy again slip through her fingers over some stupid pride. If she didn't end up with a happy ending, what did that say for me? Where did that leave a person like me, who couldn't even hold a candle to Yuna?

Her eyes softened when she saw that I wasn't saying anything. Her hand reached over to touch my face but I turned my head to look else where, avoiding her touch.

I cleared my throat in order to keep my voice from breaking. "I'm going to check on the status of those sphere waves," I said, sniffling.

I quickly made my way towards the elevator and tried my best to avoid looking at Yuna as the elevator doors shut in front of me.

* * *

Paine came to find me for dinner a while later. I was in the engine room, sitting by the stairs that lead down to the cargo area. Like the deck, the engine room was another place I liked to go and think.

I didn't look up when Paine came down the stairs to stand near me.

"How did you know I was here?" I asked. I looked up to see the warrior lean against the wall.

"You always come to the engine room to brood."

I looked down at my feet.

"You were out of line back there. I told you not to go bother her," she said.

I didn't say anything. Instead, I listened in on the ship's engine behind me, imagining how its joints smoothly pump up and down as propels the ship forward.

"She didn't ask for him back," I said, after a short silence.

The sound of leather giving way as Paine sat down next to me finally brought my gaze up.

"And? That's her business."

I sighed. "Paine, you don't understand. We started this journey to find him. She's still in love with him"

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure." I said, turning my gaze to look down at the stairs. "You weren't there on the pilgrimage. The way her eyes just simply lit up to the point of popping out of her sockets when he looked at her. And what about the way she just grew out of her shell when she was around him, there was no mistaking that she was in love."

"That might've been the case back then, but that's not the case right now is it?"

"But Paine—"

"As her friends we can only love and support her. We're not here to live her life or to tell her how she should live it."

I frowned.

"It's been two years Rikku." Paine stood up. "We've all changed, including Yuna."

"And her future? I'm sure that's changed now."

"Yuna has become a stronger woman from this," she said, making her way up the stairs. "If you can't see that then it's time for you to grow up and let go of the past."

"I just want her to have a happy ending. Is that too much to ask?"

"Life isn't a fairy tale Rikku."

No, it wasn't, but Yuna's life was.

"Are you coming? Yuna's worried about you and I think you should apologize to her."

I nodded and followed Paine out of the engine room. Despite what happened between Yuna and me before, I decided right then and there that I was going to find Yuna's happy fairy tale ending and prove Paine wrong.

* * *

**Note:** So I've edited the first three chapters of this story. I tried my best at eliminating excess words in an attempt to reduce redundancy and wordiness, I toned down my use of adverbs (unless I really needed them), and I tried improving the dialogue and how my dialogue is expressed. I hope I managed to strengthen what I have written so far.


	2. Two years later

**Two Years Later...**

Two years have past since the end of our journey and everyone just seemed too busy to go sphere hunting like we use to. I mean, it wasn't like we stopped completely afterwards. We traveled around for a bit and went on some adventures for a few months, if only to lift everyone's spirits after the grueling battle. But now, everyone was just too busy to pick up on our old past time.

Paine decided to go on her own journey. I teased her about it, saying that she needed to find herself. In true Paine fashion she threatened to smother me in my sleep. In response I laughed and gave her a hug goodbye the day she departed. I couldn't help but miss the warrior on some days, especially rainy ones since those were the days I tended to bicker with her the most.

Buddy and Brother fly around here and there. They've set up their own delivering agency and they're currently racking in the gil. Shinra is still busy working with uncle Rin on a new energy source. He said it was going to change the way we use energy to power machina. I only half listened to his explanation about 'Mako' energy and how it was going to change the way we live life. I still didn't know why we haven't tied the child up and left him in a cave some where. The last time he tried to mess with a dark source of energy in the Farplane he got possessed by the Omega Weapon and became a fiend. Yuna, Paine, and I almost had our asses handed back to us by him. Good thing he was just a kid and not some egomaniacal hell bent ghost thirsting for revenge.

Yuna became a diplomat and works with Baralai, Gippal, and Nooj to maintain peace and order throughout Spira. It's rare for her to have a day off, but she seems very happy. She loves traveling and meeting with other leaders to discuss politics. The people look up to her and her presence in the male dominated world of politics and policies give all women and young girls around a hope that they too could do anything to achieve their dreams.

I wish I could be doing whatever I wanted like Yuna, but I was stuck re-building home instead. A lot of Al Bhed left home and settled in other places. A few groups stayed behind, digging for parts and reconstruction home in the hopes that most of our people would return. I kind of like it like this though. Not that I want my people to come back, but it's cool to see them spread out through Spira. It means people have begun to accept the Al Bhed.

Since Pops is the leader, he remains at Home rebuilding. I'm there of course, helping out whenever I can. I help with the digs and organize community events as to keep people's spirits up. It feels great reconnecting with my people again, but there are days when I stare out in the endless sand horizon and dream of wanting more. I'm still young, and despite the defeat of Sin, Vegnagun, and the process of rebuilding Home, I still wanted more out of life.

"Rikku!"

I turned off the drill and looked over my shoulder, it was Pops. I turned around from my work station and lifted my goggles.

"I need you to run an errand for me," he said, offering the cylinder tube. My eyes lit up with curiosity as I took off my gloves to reach for it.

"What's in it? Can I open it?"

Pops pulled it back and gently bopped me on the head with it. "It ain't any of your business."

I pouted, but soon smiled at the prospect of taking a break from work.

"I need you to take that to Djose Temple. It's for Gippal," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I want you to come straight back here when you're done. No fooling around with Gippal."

I rolled my eyes as I stood up and placed a hand on my hip. "Pops, that was like a billion years ago, it's over between us."

Pops frowned, not saying anything as he gave me the cylinder. After Vegnagun, Gippal and I entered a very ambiguous relationship that danced on the line between romance and friends with benefits. I should've known better. Trying to make Gippal commit was like trying to make the ground rain. It was just not going to happen unless it was a miracle. Everyone thought we'd be married with kids by now, but neither of us really wanted that. I just really liked him and wanted to be with him. Neither of us wanted it to get more complicated than that. But as a year went on Gippal got bored and his eye started wandering. I knew he valued his freedom so I couldn't force him to be with me. So we broke up…sort of, and our friendship hasn't been the same since. Pops wasn't happy with how things ended. He wanted me to settle down with someone serious, someone who wouldn't give me the run around like Gippal did. But I told him that I was fine with everything and that he didn't have to worry. He didn't have to worry about my heart being broken again.

"I already told your brother and Buddy about the trip. They're waiting for you so get going."

I nodded, making my way past him.

"Remember! You go to Djose and come straight back!" I heard him call over my shoulder. I rolled my eyes again as I walked across the sandy expense.

* * *

I quickly showered and dressed into my old thief dressphere before getting dropped off at Djose. The place didn't seem to change much. Everyone went about their ways, fixing machina and lining up for the desert expedition to hunt for parts.

I made it to the temple, waving hello to the guys working there. Gippal's office was to the left and I noticed that the door was ajar. I looked around the place, hoping no one was paying attention to me as I slinked my way towards Gippal's door. With one final look I peeked inside his office. I saw him pacing around as always, rubbing his chin and posing when he stopped. Dork.

"So how are things on your end?"

I raised an eyebrow, was he talking to himself?

"Everything is great so far," A familiar female voice replied. It was Yuna.

"I'm currently talking to Tromell about relocating the Guado back to Guadosalam."

I didn't expect Yuna to be in Gippal's office today, but I really shouldn't be surprised since she was a diplomat and all.

"Really now? Do you think most of them will want to go?" Gippal asked.

"I think so. The woods are almost gone now, some Guado are relocating to other areas, but others still feel a connection to the Farplane."

"Heh." Gippal stopped his pacing and walked up to what I was assuming was Yuna since now he was out of my range of vision. I wanted to see more, but if I leaned in any closer I would give away my presence.

"So…" There was the sound of feet shuffling closer. It was times like these where I wished I had x-ray vision. "I was wondering…."

"Y-yes?"

I pouted a bit, hearing a slight nervousness in Yuna's voice. I could just picture Gippal leaning in a bit too close for comfort.

"…if you'd like to do dinner sometime."

"Oh! That sounds wonderful!"

My eyes widened. No, it did _not_ sound wonderful. "We can further discuss those machine plans that—"

"I was thinking along the lines of it being more casual," he said, cutting her off. "No work talk involved."

There was a short silence.

"Oh."

I couldn't even see her, but I could imagine just how uncomfortable Yuna might have been. Usually she avoided eye contact and played with her hands.

I decided at the moment to knock, if only to save her from answering. I think she would appreciate me saving her from having to reject Gippal.

I knocked and waited for Gippal to open the door. He looked surprised when he saw me and before he could open his mouth I made my way into his office. Yuna perked up at my presence immediately and I rushed to hug her.

"Yunie!"

"It's good to see you Rikku," she laughed.

I let Yuna go and turned to stand next to her.

"Oh, sorry was I interrupting something?" I said, feigning innocence as I looked at Gippal.

He immediately glared at me. I smirked.

"Nothing much," Yuna replied smiling.

I could have sworn saw a hint of heart break on Gippal's face. I almost laughed.

"So what brings you here?" Yuna asked.

Gippal leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Yeah, what brings you here, Cid's girl." I ignored his mocking tone and walked up to him.

"I'm on an errand for Pops." I shoved the cylinder tube at him. "Here, this is for you."

"Thanks Cid's girl." He gently bopped me on the head with it before going to his desk.

"Hey!" I protested, rubbing where he bopped me. Yuna giggled softly at my expense.

There was a sound of a jingle in the air and Yuna quickly reached for something in her pocket. It was her portable comphone, another one of Shinra's inventions. They're a huge it around Spira since they make communication easier between everyone. I had one, only I had no one to call to bother and Paine turned hers off so that I wouldn't call her.

"Yes. Right." Yuna nodded a look of determination on her features. When she was done she put her comphone away. "I have to be on my way."

I pouted and went up to her to give her another hug.

"It was nice seeing you Rikku," she said, hugging me tight.

"We have to get the gang together Yunie, I miss you so much."

Yuna laughed. "We'll see; we just have to find another adventure."

"Definitely,' I said smiling, letting her go.

"I want an answer about dinner Yuna," Gippal spoke up, looking at her from his desk. He looked serious. Yuna nodded before turning around to leave.

I waited for Yuna to be well out of the way before walking over to Gippal. I mimicked his pose, crossing my arms over my chest as I looked at the plans with him.

"What was that all about?" I asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"A date," he replied, spreading another sheet of plans out.

"A what?"

Gippal sighed. "Come on Rikku."

He turned around to lean on the desk. He smirked as he leaned over towards me to gently flick my nose.

"You know what a date is. It's when a guy takes a girl out for dinner or a good time. In your case, I'd take you out to eat and you eat everything on the menu and lead me on all night without putting out." He chuckled.

I put my hands on my hips and glared at him, frowning.

"I was joking Cid's girl," he said, rustling my hair. "You always put out!" I fought him off of me, trying to get a punch in as he laughed.

"Jerk!" I growled, punching his arm. He pretended to look hurt and rubbed his arm.

He went back to studying the plans again as if nothing happened. I was still a bit peeved about his stupid joke. If anyone put out it was _always_ him, the jerk. I looked on with him, pretending to be interested in the plans. But in reality my mind went back to what he and Yuna were talking about earlier. I couldn't believe he was making moves on Yuna. She was my cousin. She was the former high summoner who saved the world twice. She was completely out of his league.

"Why Yuna of all people?"

Gippal turned his attention from his work onto me. I refused to look at him as I could feel my cheeks flare up. I didn't know whether I was embarrassed or ashamed about asking.

"Listen, Yuna's a big girl. She can take care of herself."

"She doesn't know you like I do," I said, finally looking at him. "It's not fair that you're trying to date her."

He chuckled, turning around to face me. He leaned in close, our faces inches apart. "If I didn't know any better. I'd say you were jealous," he whispered.

I quickly pulled back, my mouth agape as I struggled to both say something and increase the distance between us.

"Of course not!"

"You hesitated," Gippal said, smirking.

"Because I was horrified that you would say that!" I could feel my ears flare up now and wondered if they were as red as my cheeks.

Gippal snorted.

"Whatever, Cid's girl."

"Listen," I began, trying to get serious. "I love Yuna with all my heart and I don't want her to end up with her heart broken. She's not like any other girl you've been with. She's special Gippal. She's someone who deserves the best."

"Oh?" Gippal raised an eyebrow. "So I'm not the best?"

"No!" I stomped my foot like a child. "You're not good enough for her. She saved the world twice now, she deserves the best, not some guy that's going to use her up and throw her away."

"Don't you think I know that?"

"Given your track record Gippal, I doubt it. Yuna is looking for love, not a fling."

Gippal's narrowed his gaze, his jaw line locking giving his face a hard look.

"Is that how you really think about me? That I'm some type of skeeze that's only in it for sex?"

I swallowed thickly.

"Do you really want me to answer that considering what we had?"

He looked down at the floor, defeated. I went too far. I played on his self-esteem hoping that I can knock him down a peg. He probably hates me for bringing up the past and his shortcomings. I opened my mouth to apologize, but was quickly silenced when he turned around to give me a sharp look.

"Shouldn't you be leaving? I got what your father sent me. There's no further use of you here." I winced at his coldness. I really went too far.

So I left. What was the point when I was too stubborn to apologize and he was too angry to listen?

* * *

The last person I wanted to bump into after my falling-out with Gippal was Yuna at the exit of the bridge out the Temple. She was waiting patiently standing in her signature pose with her hands clasped behind her back, swaying softly.

"I thought you were leaving?" I asked, standing next to her to look down at the water.

"Oh! I'm waiting for my ride; they should be here in a couple of minutes."

"Hey! I can give you a ride! I'm sure Brother would foam at the mouth if you were on the ship again."

Yuna laughed. "Thanks, but I'm fine."

I smiled. "Then I'll wait with you."

There was a short silence afterwards. My mind went back to Gippal and how stupid I was back there.

"Are you thinking about going out with Gippal?" I asked, turning to look at her.

Yuna looked at bit surprised at my question.

"I won't if you don't want me to," she said.

I sighed.

"I-I don't want to make you sad," Yuna added. "I know you two had something, Rikku."

"Had something," I clarified. "It's dead now. He could date a Hypello for all I care." I shrugged, resting my elbows on the railing of the bridge.

"But you did care a lot about him."

Indeed I did. But he didn't care a lot about me or else we'd still be together.

"That was before," I said, pushing myself off the railing to turn around.

"And now?"

I crossed my arms over my chest as I looked at Yuna, my head tilting slightly.

"Seriously? Gippal?" I asked, avoiding her question. "You could go out with anyone! How about Baralai? Last I checked he was still hot."

"Yes but—"

"Hell, Clasko's better!" I said, throwing my arms in the air. "If you ignore his weird obsession with chocobos."

"Rikku—"

"Oh, and Buddy's still single and ready to mingle. You can go out with Brother too, though that's sort of weird being family and all."

"Rikku!"

I stopped when I saw that Yuna was getting annoyed. The former summoner sighed.

"I understand you're worried about me and you don't want me to get hurt. But let me decide this on my own okay?"

I frowned. I don't want her to get hurt. I don't want her going out with Gippal. I don't want them to be together. It all just sounded so off.

Yuna's comphone went off, saving me from voicing my thoughts.

"Yuna here," she answered. I saw her nod and shut the comphone off.

She looked at me. "My ride's here." I nodded and went to give her a hug.

"Have a safe trip back," I said.

"You too," she replied, letting me go. "I'm sorry."

I shook my head. "Don't worry about it. Go for it."

I then took on macho pose, puffing out my chest and cheeks in order to appear manlier. "But if he gives you any trouble and I mean _anything_! Give me a call and I won't hesitate to go oblivion on his butt," I said in my best manly voice.

Yuna laughed.

Despite feeling a bit disheartened about the situation, I could honestly say that Yuna's laugh made me feel better as I smiled.

* * *

The optimism that I gained from Yuna was short lived as I got on the airship. I went straight to the cabin area, not bothering to report back to Brother or Buddy. I could feel my heart heavy with guilt and jealousy over Yuna and Gippal. If you would have told me two years ago that Yuna might be interested in him, I would have laughed. But it wasn't a laughing matter now. Back then I was determined to find Yuna her happy ending and I still want that for her. But I don't want her to have it with Gippal.

Only because Gippal was supposed to be with me and _only_ me.

I groaned and rolled over in bed facing the wall. It wasn't something I was ready for yet. I'm not ready to let Gippal go.

"Want to talk about it?"

I rolled over surprised that I didn't hear Buddy come up and sit on the other bed.

"Can we go to the top of Mt. Gagazet?" I asked sitting up, throwing my messy hair back.

Buddy frowned and I could tell he was worried. He stood up and sighed.

"Is that really going to help?"

I inhaled sharply, stretching a bit before standing up.

"Let's find out," I said.

Two hours later, much to Brother's protests, we landed at the top. It was where our adventure really took off. I inhaled the thin crisp air and let the wind blow my hair around. It brought back so many memories from my sphere hunter days. It brought back the laughter, the tears, the strife and the victories. Everything seemed to have started at this very place. Sometimes I wish Yuna did bring Tidus back. Maybe then things would have been differently. She's have Tidus by her side and Gippal would eventually make his way back to me. Paine would find someone who didn't mind being second to her sword and the three of us would be married and have our kids be the best of friends and that be that. It was the happy ending I imagined for everyone. It was the ending that should have happened but didn't and I blame myself for not trying hard enough to achieve it. It was supposed to be Yuna's happy ending as well as my own.

"How could I be so _stupid_!?"

My question echoed back at me and I let out another scream before falling onto my knees, gasping. I've never felt so defeated and lost at the same time. Why couldn't the mountain just swallow me up? At least that way I wouldn't have to deal with any of this.

I heard my radio go off and before I could turn it off Brother's voice screeched its way in.

"Rikku!? What is going on?!"

I frowned. "Nothing! I'm fine! I just…" I looked around trying to think of something to explain my earlier outburst. "…stubbed my toe…on something."

There was a pause.

"You have to be careful! Now get on the ship this instant!"

I rolled my eyes. He was taking this older brother thing a bit too seriously.

"But I'm not ready yet! Ten more minutes."

"Would you come on if I told you there's something worth investigating?" Buddy's voice asked and I raised an eyebrow at that.

"Go on," I said, interested.

"I'm detecting weak sphere waves coming from Zanarkand."

I swore my heart skipped a beat at the mere mention of that place. Maybe this could be the something I need to get my mind off of Gippal and Yuna.

"It could be something important," Buddy continued. "Are you up to it?"

I couldn't help but grin as my heart raced at the thought of hunting.

"You don't have to ask me twice! Let's go!"


	3. Zanarkand

**Zanarkand Ruins**

I shivered a bit as I made my way towards the Zanarkand ruins. It still looked every bit as haunting and as beautiful as it did two years ago. The dark star filled sky, the decaying stone ruins, and the pyreflies swaying slowly to a somber tune all painted the portrait that was Zanarkand. It used to be a tourist destination about two years ago no thanks to Pops, but fiend attacks became more frequent and travelers refused to come out of fear. I never liked the idea of Zanarkand being a touristy place anyway. I always felt like it was a place that should be respected and left alone.

"Rikku, is everything okay?" Buddy asked.

"Yup. So far so good, the place looks deserted as ever," I said, looking around the ruins as I started to make my way north. "Any news on the sphere before I go in further?"

"The waves were weak when we were at Mt. Gagazet and they're definitely getting stronger now. It might be hidden deep within the ruins. Use the sphere search device programmed on your comphone."

I pulled out my comphone and fiddled with it until I got the device set up. Before I knew it, the screen showed a small blinking point where the sphere might be. It would probably get bigger the closer I got to it. If memory served me right, the sphere might be where we found that half a sphere piece two years ago.

"I got a signal. I'll call you if something comes up."

"Alright then."

I pocketed my comphone and kept going. An hour in and I was surprised at the lack of fiends in the area. I made it past the entrance of the dome when my radio went off again.

"How's everything going down there?"

"I haven't encountered any fiends," I said, looking around. It was odd. There were plenty of monkeys and pyreflies, but not one fiend around.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

I kicked a small pebble which ended up hitting a random monkey. It squawked and I winced, mouthing the word sorry as it looked at me angrily.

"Considering that Zanarkand became the latest hotspot for fiend activity, I'm still a bit worried." I chewed my bottom lip. "I haven't been confronted by any random encounters, which means one of two things, I'm either being followed by a very smart fiend or there aren't any fiends around to begin with."

"Well the place stopped being a tourist attraction since last year, so maybe the lack of random deaths and unsent souls are finally taking its toll on the fiend population."

I frowned as I finally made it up the stairs and down to the first cloister. The monkeys were everywhere at this point; so much that I had to be careful where I placed my steps.

"Still, wouldn't the fiends that weren't destroyed still be around?"

"Maybe they killed each other?"

I paused before answering. "Maybe." I activated the elevator and rode it down to the antechamber.

If what Buddy said was true, then where were the oversouled fiends? A fiend usually became oversouled after killing a huge amount of other fiends and absorbing their pyreflies. It just didn't make sense if the fiends here turned on each other. There still had to be some, somewhere.

Not that I was looking for a fight, but still, what's a sphere hunting job without some fiend ass to kick?

I made it to the great hall which seemed to be the monkeys' head quarters as they were running all around.

I walked across the room and was abruptly stopped by tiny hands latching onto my leg. I looked down to see the cutest baby monkey I'd ever seen.

"Aw, you look so cute!" I couldn't help myself. He was just so precious. I bent down and scooped him up into my arms.

"Where's your mommy and daddy, hm?" The baby monkey replied with rapid clicking and chirping. I laughed.

"Want to come with me and find a sphere?"

The monkey chirped and didn't make an effort to jump out of my arms. I shrugged and walked up the stairs, going into the beyond.

The cold air I was met with felt a bit unsettling. My skin broke out into goosebumps and the baby monkey tightened his grip on me.

I walked slowly, looking around the dome carefully. I tried my best not to shiver as the cold air began to make my lips quiver. Suddenly the baby monkey began to shriek, clawing at my arms. I immediately dropped him, hissing the pain of the scratches. I saw him scurry past in between my feet and I turned around to chase him.

"Hey! Come back!" But my body froze as my eyes landed large, clawed feet. My eyes slowly looked up and widened at the sight of Dark Bahamut.

I gulped and slowly took a step back.

He roared.

I quickly kicked myself into gear, breaking out my crimson blades. I knew I didn't stand a chance what with him blocking my only exit and having the strength to pulverize me in one blow. The situation was definitely not in my favor.

"Rikku are you okay? We heard something down there!"

"Sorry Buddy, but it looks like I'm going to have to call you back. A situation just came up."

"Ri-kku…" my radio turned to static and went off.

I looked up in time to see Dark Bahamut leap forward, bringing his large claws to swipe at me. I barely missed the attack, jumping backwards, skidding across the pavement. He roared again and my eyes widened in horror as I saw pyreflies begin to waft around him. He began to glow, a thick murderous aura that threatened to choke even me. He got on all fours, roaring.

Was he becoming oversouled? I took some steps back and faltered when I felt the edge of the pit. I sighed in relief. I forgot that was there, another step back and I would've fallen in.

Dark Bahamut roared again, this time arching upwards, standing on his hind legs with his hands gripping his head. He looked to be in pain, as though the power of being oversouled was too much. I looked past him and saw the exit.

Now if only I could get by him without him noticing.

I took some meek steps forward which earned me a rumbling roar. I stood still.

Okay. So he could still sense my presence. I knew I would have to sprint by him if I really wanted to get out of there, but the monster matched me in speed so I only had one shot.

I bent my knees a bit, preparing myself to go, but before I could even think about pushing against the floor to gain momentum, Dark Bahamut did what I thought was the impossible.

The pyreflies were driving him insane and with his ever growing power he lost it. He literally exploded. I immediately covered my face to protect myself from the blast. It was the last thing I remembered doing before everything turned black.

* * *

Pain.

My body was being devoured by pain. I opened my eyes, but didn't dare sit up. I wanted to see if anything was broken first before making such a drastic move. I wiggled my toes and found that I could. No broken legs? I walk another day. I next tried to move my fingers and make a fist. I sighed in relief. No broken arms or fingers.

I inhaled sharply before I sat up and choked on my own breath as the sharp pain blindsided me. I bit my lip hard to keep myself from screaming. Okay. So I may have a fractured rib or two.

I frowned and reached for my travel bag. I emptied out its contents in front of me and groaned. Frustrated that almost all my potion bottles were broken, I searched through the glass wreckage and found two hi-potions.

"It's this or nothing," I mumbled to myself as I drank them, wincing at their thick, menthol taste.

Despite its horrible taste, I'll admit that it hit the spot. A wave of heat washed over me as the potions went to work, repairing torn muscles and any cuts I had gained.

After a couple of minutes of letting the potions do their work I stood up. I felt sore and it only hurt if I touched my bruised ribs. I needed to get out of here to get proper medical attention. But where was here?

I looked around and saw pyreflies and flowers everywhere. Was this the Far Plane? Was I dead? I turned too abruptly and winced at the pain in my ribs. Nope. I was still very much alive.

I remember Yuna telling me how she ended up here and how she met Shuyin. My skin goose bumped at the thought. I also remember her telling me how he mistook her for Lenne and how pissed he was afterwards. Was it possible that his ghost was still here? Maybe he was responsible for what happened to Dark Bahamut up there. The thought gave me chills.

If it was true then I was in big trouble. I was in no condition to fight, much less fight a ghost who may still be smarting after the ass kicking we gave him two years ago. Wait. Wasn't Shuyin's ghost at peace now? Then who was responsible for—

A whistle.

I tensed, my shoulders locking up as I moved my head slowly in the direction the whistle came from. There was no one there.

I licked my lips and swallowed thickly.

_Another_ whistle.

I summoned my crimson blades. My heart raced as I anticipated an attack.

Another whistle, closer this time.

My breath hitched and my eyes scanned the area. Where was it coming from? All I could see were flowers and pyreflies and it was beginning to creep me the heck out.

I decided that standing there wasn't going to help much so I began to walk around, my eyes ready to lock onto anything that might decide to come at me.

The whistling sound came again and it sounded as though it was by my ear. The thought of lips so close by made me yelp as I swerved around, crimson blades slicing through air.

"Whoa! Hold on!"

"Who said that!"

I swung around violently again. The rush of adrenaline pulsing through my body made me forget about the pain coming from my ribs.

A cold hand brushed against my shoulder and I attacked.

"Rikku!"

_Shuyin._

My eyes widened at the image before me. It couldn't be possible! He was dead and more so, at peace with Lenne right?

"You!" I growled, narrowing my eyes. I lunged forward, bringing my blades down with all my force. The blonde bastard had the audacity to stop them, his hands sandwiching one of my blades and holding it there.

"Wait! Calm down! It's me!"

I swung my other blade out, making him let go of the one he caught. He jumped back and dodged when I attacked again.

"Stand still so I can kill you again!"

"But it's me, Tidus!"

"Liar!" I screamed.

He was playing with my emotions. He just had to be. That's what he did in the Den of Woe and that's what he was doing now. I couldn't lose to him, not when he was playing dirty and taking on the image of one of my best friends.

"No, it's really me!"

"Then why do you look so much like Shuyin!" I yelled, swinging my blades.

"What?" His eyes widened at my accusation and I grinned, seeing an opening.

"I thought so!"

I managed to land a slice at one of his arms, but unfortunately it wasn't deep. He looked at the wound on his arm and looked at me shocked.

"You cut me!"

"And if you just stand still I can do more!" I dove forward. He jumped back, raising his hands up in surrender. I stopped just short, frowning at how weird Shuyin was acting.

"Wait! I'm wearing my clothes."

"They don't fit," I reasoned. And indeed they didn't. He was a bit taller than Tidus. His body was filled out more and his blonde hair was a bit darker.

"I grew up…a lot," he said, smiling sheepishly.

That smile only reminded me of Tidus and how dorky he was. It only served to grind on my nerves because only Shuyin would mock me like that.

"Bastard!" And I swiped at him again and of course he dodged.

"But it's really me!"

"You're lying." I brought my blade down again, a move which reminded me of my ribs as the pain shot through me. Shuyin caught my wrist and brought me close. Now that we were face to face I saw his eyes darken.

"I'm not," he said. "I'll say something that only you and I know. How about that one time—"

"You possessed me," I grit out. My breath was haggard and weak. The pain pulsed through me. "You know all my memories."

He frowned. "Then you leave me no choice."

And before I could move he kicked my legs from under me and I landed on my back. The white hot pain shot through me and I howled out a dreadful cry. He pinned my wrist above my head and straddled me.

"Rikku. Look at me."

I stared up at Shuyin, my eyes burning with tears.

"Yuna fell down here two years ago. I was the one that got her out. Remember? She told you this after you guys went into the Den of Woe, after Shuyin possessed you. There's no way he could know that unless she told you before then," he said.

My lip trembled. That was true. I wanted to know how Yuna survived the fall and she told me that Tidus saved her. I was convinced then that he was watching us, protecting us on our journey.

"I whistled, just like I did before, to get her attention."

I relaxed my body as a sign that I wasn't going to do anything. He relaxed his hold on my wrists.

He didn't look like the dorky kid from four years ago. He looked older, even his voice was a bit deeper. But what really unnerved me was how much he still looked like Shuyin.

"Rikku? It's me."

I didn't say anything, sniffling a bit.

He sighed. "Well, I guess I shouldn't blame you," he said getting off me and letting go of my writs.

I quickly dried my tears and made an attempt to sit up. I choked on a small cry when a sharp pain jabbed at my ribs.

"You're hurt!" Tidus asked, rushing towards me again. He kneeled next to me, placing a hand on my back to keep me steady. "Why didn't you say anything?" He quickly checked his pockets and withdrew two bottles.

I chuckled bitterly, pushing him away from me. Tidus didn't budge. "I was preoccupied trying to kill you," I said, knowing that I would have been successful if it weren't for my ribs.

"It's not funny," he chastised, giving me a dark look. He uncapped one of the bottles. "I hurt you."

"I was hurt before," I clarified. He helped me sit up and brought the bottle to my mouth. I didn't open my lips, glaring at him.

"Rikku, please drink this," he said, pressing the rim of the bottle to my lips. I turned my face away.

"What is it?"

"It'll help you get better—"

"What _is it_?" I asked, darkly.

Tidus sighed. "It's a hero drink. It'll help mend any broken bones, but it won't heal them all the way."

I took the bottle from him, giving him another look before gulping its contents down. The sour, rancid taste almost made me gag. Tidus had the second one ready and I took it, gulping most of it down in one swig while holding my breath.

"If I die," I panted, licking my lips. "I'm going to haunt you." He just grinned at my threat.

I felt the potions work immediately, the searing pain fading back to a dull ache. It soon disappeared completely and soothing warmth washed over me, a sign that torn muscles and bones were finally mended. Tidus sat with me. Our soft breathing and steady heart beats taking the place of conversation in the hollowing silence. He idly traced slow, gentle circles at the base of my back with his thumb. I focused my eyes on my feet, not trusting to look at him yet, not when I could feel a heat roll onto my cheeks that wasn't related to the effects of the potions.

"Better?"

His soft voice jarred me, my shoulders tense. I swallow thickly, sour taste making my throat feel itchy. "I'm fine," I whispered a little hoarsely.

I brought my knees to my chest and dug my hands into the ground as I got ready to stand up. His hands quickly moved to my waist and I pushed him away.

"I said I was fine," I said, getting on my feet.

If he was hurt by how cold I was being towards him, I didn't see. He got on his feet and crossed his arms over his chest.

"So, how did you end up here?" he asked.

I turned around from him, looking around the area for a way out.

"I was battling a Dark Bahamut. Well, it was more like playing a game of dodge and roll." I snorted, looking over my shoulder in time to see him grin. I returned my attention to my surroundings again, hoping that some kind of opening would catch my eye. "He went berserk. One minute he was fine and the next he was going crazy and getting oversouled," I said, finishing my story.

Tidus stood next to me, as if looking for a way out with me. "That's really weird."

"He sounded like he was in pain before he self destructed. That was the last thing I remember before waking up here."

He was silent for a moment, chewing on his bottom lip as he thought.

"Maybe he reached his limit? A fiend can only become so powerful," he said shrugging.

Everything about this situation felt off to me. First Bahamut goes berserk and blows up and then I land in some Farplane like place to find Tidus, whose looks were too close to Shuyin's for my tastes.

I looked at the blonde, wondering how he came to be. Was he responsible for what happened with Bahamut? And if so, how? If he was indeed a threat, he would have finished me off a long time ago, especially with my injuries. Instead, he healed me. None of this made sense….unless.

_Unless Yuna changed her mind._

My heart hiccupped at the thought and suddenly it became difficult to breathe.

"Where did you come from?"

Tidus blinked at my question, probably surprised that I was asking so late.

"That's something I'd like to know." He looked down at his feet as he kicked at a few rocks on the ground. "I just woke up here one day," he said looking up at me, shrugging his shoulders.

I furrowed my brow, curious as to how Tidus came to be. The only explanation I could come up with was that Yuna finally changed her mind and decided to bring him back. But the former summoner's actions, especially those involving Gippal, said that she was ready to move on. Were her actions just a mask to cover up what her heart really wanted?

"How long have you been here?" I asked, wondering if Yuna had been secretly longing for Tidus, how long had he been here.

"I'm not sure," Tidus said, shaking his head. "It's hard to tell time in this place. I…I'm not sure if I'm even human."

I shook my head, as if not wanting to believe what I just heard. "What do you mean?"

Tidus sighed. "Like I said, it's hard to tell time in this place." He began to walk idly around me. "I've been here, for who knows how long, and I haven't felt tired or even hungry. I just…"

"…exist." I finished for him.

He nodded. At that moment I noticed that the cut that I was sure I gave him before with my blades was gone. I walked up to him and his eyes widened when I cupped his face with one of my hands. He felt so warm and his skin felt so soft. He certainly _felt_ real. I looked at him. His deep blue eyes quickly engulfing me in a wave of mystery as I stared into them. I felt like his eyes held all the answers, even the answer as to where he came from. But as I looked on I detected something else. I saw a well of loneliness so deep that it threaded to pull me in. I wanted to get away. I didn't want to be proven wrong. I didn't want to think that this man was Tidus; that he wasn't some imposter trying to play with my emotions. I tried to pull away because I didn't want to drown in those oceanic blues, but a gloved hand reached up and gripped my wrist gently. Tidus sighed as he closed his eyes, nuzzling into my hand. My heart drummed loudly in my chest as I swallowed thickly. This was too much. I couldn't let myself be swayed. I couldn't let myself fall victim to someone who might not be real. I regained some sense of control and pulled my hand away, swerving around quickly to avoid looking at his face.

I cradled my hand to my chest, Tidus's warmth still lingering on my finger tips.

_Real._

I screwed my eyes shut, trying to drown out the sound of my rumbling heart.

_He's real._

It wasn't until Tidus put a hand on my shoulder that I knew he was right behind me. I flinched, not expecting him to be so close to me.

"Let's get you out of here," he whispered by my ear. I failed to suppress a shiver.

He walked ahead of me and it wasn't until he was almost out of sight that my feet began to work.

"Hey! Wait up!" I yelled, running after him to catch up.


	4. Mt Gagazet pt I

**Note:** It's very important to note that I ended up re-writing the last section of the previous chapter. So if you're coming to the new chapter having read the older version of the precious chapter, just go back and re-read the last half of the chapter. Sorry if this inconveniences anyone, but that chapter was bothering me and I had to re-write it. Anyway, here's a new (and rather long) chapter.

* * *

**Mt. Gagazet**

We walked in silence most of the way. I was still trying to wrap my mind at the idea of Tidus being back and wondering if Yuna had indeed wished him to be here. It didn't help that I was still a bit wary of him, considering his close resemblance to Shuyin. But now that I've had time to think it over and carefully examine the situation, I could admit that he still had some Tidus like tendencies. For example, his sense of direction was a horrible as ever as he kept pausing and thinking about where to go.

"So, how long has it been since you guys defeated Shuyin?" he asked after taking a new route.

"Wait you—"

"Of course I remember. I told you, I helped," he said, smiling.

I nodded, working my feet to keep up with his long strides.

"It's been two years since then, four years since you've been gone if you want to the full scope things."

"I bet a lot has changed." He brought his arms up to place his hands behind his head in his signature devil-may-care pose. "Even Yuna," he said, his eyes giving me a sideways glance.

"For the most part, but it's not a bad change" I said, my eyes meeting his glance. "I think she still misses you."

"Does she now?"

I nodded. _Or else, how would you even be here?_ I wanted to say.

"She's changed, but I can tell that she's still the same Yuna," I said smiling.

"You've changed too," he said, smirking.

I shook my head, making a face. "Not by much."

Tidus had the nerve to roll his eyes. "Of course, because practically running around naked isn't a change at all," he snorted.

I frowned. "I'll have you know that this is what's in fashion!" I reasoned pouting. "And it's a part of my dressphere and seeing as how I'm a thief, it helps with my speed."

He gave me a look that said 'Okay, if you say so' and smirked.

"Hey!" I said, not taking kindly to his teasing. "At least I don't sound like an old man who's out of touch with fashion!" I gave him a once over, looking at how his old clothes barely fit and smirked, feeling better about myself.

"H-hey!" Tidus stopped in his tracks. "I'm not that much older than you!"

"Says the old man wearing kids' clothes!"

"Well that's what happens when people grow up!"

I shrugged, showing him that he still looked pretty ridiculous with clothes three sizes too small. It gave me a good sense of satisfaction to see Tidus lose his cool over something so trivial.

"Besides, at least I've grown up." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Looks like you _still_ have some room left grow," he said, smirking at my chest.

My eyes widened in horror as my cheeks flushed with heat.

"Why you little!"

He easily dodged my attempt to punch him and quickly swerved around me and stuck his tongue out. I growled my frustration and lunged at him, but he was quick and managed to dive down and scoop me up over his shoulder.

"Put me down!" I said kicking my legs and weakly beating his back with my fists. "Put me down or I'll pinch your butt!" I threatened.

Tidus chuckled. "Is that a promise? Because it's been a while since my butt's been properly pinched."

My cheeks flared, his playful comment reminding me of Gippal's flirty nature.

I huffed and pouted, giving up on the idea of winning against him.

Tidus just laughed at my lack of retort and continued walking through the field of flowers.

* * *

Tidus let me down after I pinky swore to him that I wouldn't try to kill him for carrying me during our trip. He pointed over my shoulder and I turned around to see a large opening. The soft moonlight filtered through along with a cool breeze.

"That's the way out."

I nodded and took the first steps towards the exit. I stopped when I didn't hear Tidus's steps mimic mine and turned around to face him.

"What's wrong?"

The former guardian shook his head.

"I can't leave."

An unexplained sense of horror crept over me as my heart felt like it dropped down to my stomach. I licked my lips.

"W-what do you mean you can't leave?"

Tidus avoided my gaze by staring at the floor. "Every time I try to leave, I black out and wake up some where far away from here." He looked up at me, eyes laden with remorse. "Every time I wake up, a voice tells me it's not time yet."

I chewed my bottom lip. If Yuna did subconsciously bring him back, I doubt she would believe he was even here, let alone be gun-ho about coming here to get him. At the moment I remembered Paine and how she was certain that life wasn't some fairytale. If I could, I would show her that Yuna's happily ever after was right in front of me, looking at me with inquisitive eyes. I would show her that it can happen and it _will_ happen because I made a promise two years ago to bring Yuna her happy ending.

I turned and walked towards the exit, a slow resolve building inside of me with every step I took. I stood at the threshold, gazing out to see the dark blue night sky. I turned around to face Tidus again, this time with my hand extended out towards him.

"Let's go home."

Tidus shook his head. "I can't."

"Just take my hand," I said, beckoning him with my hand. "Trust me, it'll work."

"It won't!" He protested, his voicing echoing through the abyss.

I stood there and said nothing, seeing him mentally struggle with the decision of taking my hand. I could see that he didn't want to risk it. He didn't want to be sent back into the darkness after finding light. And what if it didn't work? What if my actions only hurt him in the end and I end up alone on the other side? Could I live with myself with the thought of him trapped in here? I licked my lips nervously. I couldn't let him slip away, not when Yuna's happiness was on the balance.

"Please, I can't leave you behind. Not like this." _Not when you're my only hope of making thing the way that they _should_ be._

Tidus took a few steps forward and reached out to grab my hand. I pulled him close when I grabbed him and began to walk backwards.

"Just keep your eyes on me, okay?" I said, focusing on him. "Focus on me and my voice. We're going to get you out."

He nodded as he followed, his grip tightening when he was under the threshold of the opening.

"That's it, almost there," I said softly. My heart jumped as I felt the cold blast of mountain air envelope me. I inhaled deeply, finding it hard to breathe all of a sudden, though if it was because of the thin mountain air or the fact that Tidus was almost outside, I didn't know. I only knew that I had to get him out. I had to bring him to Yuna in order to make her truly happy.

I kept on going, walking backwards despite being already outside. Tidus's eyes widened when he reached me, letting go of my hand as he stood against the cold wind.

"I'm outside," he whispered.

My lips slowly began to stretch into a wild grin.

"I'm outside!" To my surprise, Tidus picked me up, laughing and spun me around. I tried my best to keep my excitement and joy to myself but I gave in and began laughing along with him. I grabbed on, my arms around his neck as he spun us and cheered on our victory.

Tidus stopped, eventually, panting heavily as he put me down and held me. I could feel his pulse race and his skin dampen slightly with sweat. They were all heavy reminders that this was real and that Tidus was very much alive. We stood there in silence, my fingers carding the hairs at the base of his neck.

"Um…" I didn't know what to say at the moment.

"Oh!" Tidus quickly let me go, his cheeks flushed as he increased the distance between us. "Sorry," he chuckled, bashfully.

I shook my head, showing him that he had nothing to be embarrassed about, though I knew my own cheeks were slightly flushed as well.

I looked around the summit, remembering our battle with Garik Ronso. I realized the summit was big enough for an airship to come swing by and I checked my radio. I frowned when I found it fried. I checked my comphone and saw that it was fried as well.

"Well, looks like I can't call my brother," I pouted, putting the device away.

"So what now?"

I sighed.

"I guess we have to scale down the mountain."

Tidus nodded. "Think we'll be okay?"

I immediately remembered that there are fiends around and quickly took out my garment grid and checked the wrist band that controlled it. I sighed, relieved that the grid and control system weren't fried like my comphone and my radio.

"You'll need a weapon," said, activating the grid.

"What's that?" Tidus asked, looking over my shoulder.

"It's a garment grid. It holds various jobs and skills that I can change into on a fly," I said, pointing to the blinking dots. "See those dots? They're the dresspheres or jobs programmed into this specific garment grid. I have white mage, black mage, warrior and thief." I pointed to the brightest dot of them all. "See that one? It's the one I'm currently wearing, the thief sphere."

Tidus nodded. "What are you doing to it?" he asked noticing how I tinkered with the grid to make the warrior sphere manifest in my hands. I put the garment grid away.

"I'm getting you a weapon," I said, rolling the sphere to find the control panel Shinra created. After our adventure ended, I got really into tinkering with the dresspheres and garment grids. I became Shinra's pupil in a way as I learned how to change different settings from alternating speeds, strengths and magic without having to change grids, to mixing and matching weapons and garments to have the benefits of two dresspheres while wearing one. Currently, I was programming the sphere to only activate the weapon.

"Considering that we're going to scale down the mountain, I'm sure we'll run into some fiends," I said, closing the panel. "This is my warrior sphere." I turned a switch and the sphere transformed into the Crystal sword.

"It's one of my old swords! That's pretty cool."

She smirked.

"You can wield it now. I changed the settings so that you can use the sword without wearing the garment," I said, handing him the sword. "Try it out."

I stood back as Tidus made some experimental sword swings. It looked like he was getting used to it.

"I'm sorry it's just the sword," I added, watching him test the weight as well. "You won't have any of the speed, magic or strength abilities that come from the sphere since you aren't wearing it."

"Why can't I wear it?" he asked, idly taking another swing before turning sharply to deliver a quick swipe to the air.

"Well, if you really want to wear a scantily clad outfit while you kick fiend butt…"

Tidus winced in his actions.

"I'll take the sword," he said, stopping.

"Thought so," I smirked.

"But it's pretty cool. Changing weapons and abilities like this. A lot has changed."

I smiled, checking the wristband that controlled my garment grid. I selected the black mage dressphere and waited to transform.

"Don't worry. I'll fill you in so that by the time we get you home you'll be up to speed." I winked, now fully dressed as a dark sultry sorceress. I knew my ribs weren't bothering me at the moment, but I didn't want to risk physically fighting getting involved and adding more stress to my body.

"Ready to go?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at Tidus who didn't seem to want to look away.

"It's impolite to stare," I said teasingly in a husky sexy voice. Seeing the mortified look creep up on Tidus's face was priceless as he cheeks darkened to a nice shade of candy apple red.

"I-I w-wasn't—"

I couldn't help but giggle. "Yes you were," I teased, pointing my staff at him.

Tidus sputtered. "Er-uh…Let's go!" He jogged right past me away from Zanarkand.

"Hey! I'm supposed to lead!" I yelled, jogging after him. "You're going to get us lost again!"

"Will not!"

"Will too!"

"I will not!"

And thus are journey down the mountain began with our childish banter.

* * *

I found it strange that once we started making our way down through the caves, we didn't encounter any fiends. It was unsettling and reminded me of my trip through the Zanarkand ruins.

"So, where are the fiends?" Tidus asked after a couple of minutes of walking.

"I have no idea," I said, shrugging.

He helped me down a rocky path and we continued down.

"This happened when I walked through the ruins," I said. "Not a peep until I got down underground."

"Think we'll fight something as powerful as the Bahamut you faced?"

"Let's hope not."

I saw the teleport machine down by an open space and my heart practically soared at the prospect of getting down the mountain in a few minutes instead of a few hours.

"We can use the teleported to get down!" I said, leading Tidus to it.

I stepped onto it, hitting the destination buttons and pouting when none of them lit up.

"Just our luck!" I stomped my foot, trying again to activate it.

Tidus gave it a go himself and shook his head when he couldn't get it to turn on either.

"Can anything else go wrong?" I practically whined.

The sound of a growl filtered through the air. We both tensed, turning slowly to see where the sound had originated from.

"I think we have company," Tidus said, moving away from the teleport machine at the sight of a pack wild wolves emerging from the darkest part of the cave.

The snarling pack snapped their jaws, growling and barking as they made their way closer to us.

"Aw, they're almost too cute to hurt" I cooed, getting my staff ready, joining him. The pack broke up and the wolves began to surround us.

Tidus snorted, getting into his battle stance. "Yeah, so cute that they'll rip your face off to give you a kiss!"

The former guardian quickly lunged at one of the dogs, disposing of it in one quick slash.

I gathered as much energy as I could muster, inhaling as I did so to concentrate on a fire spell. I twirled my staff above my head, summoning a cloud of fire from under one of the dogs, making it yelp and collapse on the spot.

"That'll work!" Tidus laughed, before dodging and rolling away from an incoming attack. "Hey!" He managed to get on is feet, pushing himself off the ground to run towards another dog, slicing into it with incredible speed. I didn't notice he took the wolf out until he ran back, a trail of pyreflies in his wake.

I took out the last wolf, firing a fireball that knocked it out of the arena.

I looked over to Tidus, who was using his sword as a means of keeping himself upright as he rested on one knee.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked, quickly making my way towards him. I noticed he was covered in a light sheen of sweat.

"I'm okay," he panted, licking his lips. He took a deep breath and stood up. "I'm just really out of shape."

I raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?" I touched my wrist to turn into my white mage dressphere, but Tidus's hand shot out, stopping me.

"I'm fine."

I nodded, putting my hand down. He let go, his breathing becoming more stable.

"That felt pretty good though," he chuckled.

"You were good," I said, nodding and smiling, giving him some encouragement.

"You weren't so bad yourself, frying everything in sight. You're just as good as Lulu!"

"Thanks old man," I said, smirking, turning around to walk across the arena and down the cave.

"Hey!"

After walking for another hour without any random fiend encounters we finally made it out of the caves, down the mountain path and to the mountain trails. I was really grateful that we didn't encounter anymore fiends, Tidus didn't look very good and I was beginning to worry. And the worry only made itself worse when we were confronted by a fierce storm when we reached the peak of on of the trails.

"Yeeouch", I winced, seeing how strong the winds were as it blanketed everything with snow. I looked towards Tidus who looked almost feverish.

"Are you alright?"

Tidus straightened up, shaking his head.

He stands up straighter, but he's shivering.

"Never better!" he said, his jaw obviously shaking from how cold he was.

"Are you sure? Because we don't have to go down now. We can take a break if you want." I reached over to touch his face, but he quickly knocked my hand away.

"I said I was fine!" I was a little surprised to hear anger in his voice and ran after him after as he began to stalk down the mountain trail.

"Hey! Wait up!" I finally caught up to him, making him stop. "This storm is pretty bad, so we should stick together," I said over the howling wind. I took his hand and lead the way this time.

The storm felt like it was whipping us, the strong winds lacerating the skin. I couldn't begin to imagine how cold Tidus must have felt with so much bare skin exposed. I looked over my shoulder to see how he was doing. His face was cast down, trying his best to keep up. I was a bit worried when I stopped and he bumped into me. He blinked dazedly at me.

"Tidus, I'm going to heal you. Hold on," I said, reaching for my garment grid. But Tidus collapsed and I barely caught him in time. I felt his forehead as I tried to hold him up. I almost panicked. He was burning up!

"Come on, let's sit you down," I said, soothingly, to which Tidus protested by making a sort of whining noise.

"Okay, okay," I conceded, knowing that he probably felt dizzy too. I held him up as best I could and chewed my bottom lip trying to think of something.

I couldn't very well make my way back up the mountain trail since we might have to stay in the caves with who-knows-what waiting to ambush us. I decided that down the trail was the way to go. I also had to carry Tidus and knew with my partially healed bruised ribs I was in no real condition to add that kind of stress on my body without some help.

"Tidus, I'm going to put you down for a little second," I said, putting him down and helping him sit. I quickly went to work. I got out my garment grid and began fixing it to raise the strength of my black mage dressphere. It was hard to manage with the snow storm blaring around us, but I managed to get the job done. I quickly changed into my white mage dressphere and went straight to curing Tidus. I saw the green aura of the spell flush over him and though he didn't twitch or acknowledge that he was being healed, I felt him his forehead and saw that it had cooled down significantly.

I immediately switched back to my black mage, activating the modified strength. I bent down, slinging one of his arms over my shoulder.

"Come on," I grit as I pushed off the ground to pick him up. He made a noise, a sort of cry, but I got him on his feet.

I tried my best carrying most if not all of his weight as we walked slowly down the trail. We stopped every once in a while to adjust my grip on him, but the journey down was not getting any easier the further we walked. Visibility was on an all time low as the storm rages around us. I was beginning to feel my feet and hands grow numb as I dragged myself and Tidus through the snow. It wasn't until we reached the bottom of the first trail did I stop to look around.

A short distance away I spotted a dark opening. It must have been a cave and my cracked lips broke into a grin at the thought of proper shelter.

I slowly but surely made my way towards the cave, my ribs aching from all the work I was doing. When we got there, I sat Tidus down right outside the cave. He was unconscious now and he was covering in frost. I quickly went into the cave, securing it to make sure it there weren't any fiends. I lit the end of my staff with a fireball and saw that the cave wasn't very big. I turned around sharply, my main concern becoming Tidus and bringing him in from the storm. I bent down, knowing that I wouldn't be able to get him stand up like before. I was going to have to either carry him or drag him inside and I was not going with the latter simply because I didn't want to hurt him.

I slung his arms over me and gripped his waist. I pushed up from the ground as hard as I could and choked on a small cry as I felt a sharp twisting pain erupt from my ribs. I didn't let that stop me however, as I walked inside the cave as fast as my frozen feet could carry us. Reaching the back of the cave I slowly lowered Tidus down onto the floor. I collapsed afterwards, trying to control my labored breathes as I tried my best to ignore the roaring pain coming from my ribs.

I looked over at Tidus who was still unconscious. Tears quickly swelled up in my eyes as I saw all the frost in his hair and his blue lips. He looked dead. The alarming conclusion quickly kicked my ass into gear and I went around scavenging for dry wood, the pain of my ribs forgotten as my priority was to bring Tidus back. He was knocked out, not dead. Yes. That's all I had to keep telling myself as I worked to gather more materials for a fire without breaking down to sob over his cold body.

I quickly ignited a fire with some magic, lighting the cave up. With that done, I changed into my white mage dressphere, taking off the heavy wool sweater and draping it over Tidus, making sure to tuck it in. I began to cast Full-Life, watching as the blue mist of the spell quickly rushed over and enveloped Tidus. That seemed to do the trick as Tidus sucked in a hurried breath of life and shivered his blue lips quivering as he continued to sleep. I cast a Cure spell next, hoping that it'll help bring him some strength. He didn't wake up, but the color was returning to his face. I checked his pulse, finding it a bit weak and he was still shivering. So I cast Cure until almost all of my magic was depleted. I was sweating and panting from how weak I was growing but I didn't care because at least I got Tidus to stop shivering and his pulse was a bit more stable.

I gave myself a round of a cure spell and called it quits for the moment, letting the spell kill off the pain that burned through my chest.

I sat back, exhausted as I watched the fire chip and burn away at the dead sticks I fed it. Just like a flame, Tidus's life was almost snuffed. I blinked at the realization and then began to sob indiscriminately like a scared child.

* * *

I watched Tidus sleep as the hours rolled by. He was stable, his breathing steady and his cheeks flushed with warmth. I healed him once every hour and noticed that it was all I could do without depleting all of magic and passing out. As I let my magic replenish itself, I looked towards the storm outside. It still rage something fierce, the strong winds yowling along with the sky's crackling of thunder and ice. It brought my mind back to the Gullwing days and when Yuna, Paine and I walked up the trail only to encounter one of it's ferocious storms. I remembered we retreated to a cave much like the one I was in with Tidus. We grew hungry as dinner time rolled around and decided that are meager rations weren't enough. Paine thought that we should brave the storm to try to hunt for some game, but I knew we wouldn't find anything. And as soon as I brought that point up Paine decided I was a wimp and headed out. Of course, I wasn't far behind, whining about being called a wimp.

I remember we argued the entire hunt. Paine and I got into competition mode, each dressed in our Trainer dressphere and debating which animal would kick more ass. It wasn't until the animal summons disappeared and the storm began to get worse that we decided to call a truce and go back. Yuna had never left the cave. In fact, Yuna was cuddling a white snow bunny when we arrived. Of course, Paine decided he was dinner and I, despite how cute he looked, agreed with her and my rumbling stomach. We moved in for the kill when Yuna scooped him up and said that it would be crime to eat "Jeremy" and that we should just have our rations. Suffice to say, Paine and I brooded in the corner with what little rations we had while Yuna fed Jeremy the snow bunny some of hers. Paine insisted that we try again, when Yuna was asleep, but I told her we couldn't. Not when she named the bunny.

I snorted a giggle at the memory, thinking of Paine scowling at the bunny as he snuggled comfortably in Yuna's arms as they slept.

Tidus made a noise and I quickly snapped out of my thoughts. I looked to see him sigh in his sleep again, his eyebrows drawing together as he dreamed. I wondered then if he was dreaming and if he was dreaming of Yuna. I couldn't have asked for anything more perfect at the moment. Here he was my one chance at bringing Yuna the happiness she deserved. My lips slightly curved upwards, thinking of the look on Gippal's face when the rug made out of his proverbial cockiness was pulled out from under him. I knew he wasn't serious about Yuna. She was just another notch on his belt, just like I was, just like all those other women were. He didn't know that what Yuna needed was stability, someone who would be there for her, someone who would love and cherish her. I don't want Yuna's heart to be broken. She didn't see it now, because she was so blinded with this so called crush on Gippal, but she will get hurt if she isn't careful.

I sighed, my eyes drooping as sleep threatened to take me.

Tidus was the answer to all of this, because he was going to make things right again.


	5. Mt Gagazet pt II

**Mt. Gagazet**

"_Rikku._"

I groaned a little in my sleep.

"Rikku."

I opened my eyes, sleep making my vision bleary. I blinked, shaking the sleep off and focusing my gaze on Tidus who looked at me with worry.

"Hey, you're up," I smiled, sleepily.

Tidus grinned. "I should be saying that about you."

I looked around and saw that we were still in the cave. Not that I thought otherwise. The fire I had going all night was now a heap of burning embers and ash. I shed the sweater that was draped across my shoulders and tried to stand up. A quick sharp pain from my ribs quickly grounded me and I swallowed a small cry.

"Take it easy," Tidus said, quickly coming over to help me stand. He grabbed the sweater and handed it to me.

"Are you feeling better now?" I asked, taking the sweater and draping over my shoulders again. I didn't want to strain putting it on for fear of upsetting my ribs.

He nodded. "I'm fine. Thank you for before."

I smiled and looked out to see that the storm was now gone. I walked on out of the cave to continue our journey down the trail.

"Are you sure you should be moving? Shouldn't you rest a bit?" he asked, stopping me at the exit.

I shook my head. "I'm fine," I said. "We should take advantage and go down the trail now before another storm hits."

I didn't wait for him to protest as I walked down the mountain trail. It was a more difficult trek now with fresh snow on the ground.

"You gave me quite a scare back there," I said after a moment of silence.

Tidus looked down as he feet as he walked.

"I'm sorry." He looked like a child being scolded.

I shook my head. "Don't," I reassured. "It's not your fault."

"But it is," he said, stopping in his tracks. "I don't want to be a burden to you."

"You're not."

We stared at each other then, our breaths clouding before us from the frigid cold.

"I promise that I'll get stronger." He licked his lips. "For you."

"No, be strong for Yuna," I corrected. "She's the reason why you're here." I smiled.

He opened his mouth as if to protest the request, but quickly shut it when I smiled. He sighed, walking ahead of me.

"For Yuna…right," I heard him mumble under his breath.

We walked down in silence again, and the burn in my ribs began to flare up into a searing pain. It was getting difficult to breath and it didn't' help that we were still at such a high altitude. Tidus looked over his shoulder and noticed the long distance between us we traveled in different paces. He backtracked towards me and I stopped, using him to hold onto as I caught my breath.

"We should find somewhere for you to rest," Tidus began, holding onto me. "You've done so much for me Rikku. I don't want you to wear yourself out."

I swallowed thickly, pulling away from him now.

"Don't worry about me," I said. The pain was a bit sharper now with every breath I took. "Come on, I'll heal us before heading down some more."

I tried summoning some magic, inhaling to perform a cure spell. I groaned as the pressure of my lungs expanding only made the pain I felt worse. I dropped to my knees, eyes brimming with tears as I choked on a cry.

"Rikku!"

I barely registered Tidus's grip on my shoulders as the pain nearly blinded me. My head swam as if recovering from being clocked on the head. I panted hard, the dizzying feeling getting worse to the point of nausea. I eventually emptied my stomach of its contents, the smell of bile only making me feel worse.

"_Rikku!_" It was the last thing I heard before I blacked out.

* * *

I woke up to look at a marble rock ceiling. Were we in a cave? I shifted in the warmth of fur sheets. I was in bed and from the feel of things, a hard bed. I tried to sit up, groaning as I did so when a pair of hands shot out to my shoulders.

"Hey! Take it easy!" Tidus gently pushed me back down.

I tried to remember what happened before I black out and my mind registered that I had puked my brains out before passing out. I made a face. I hoped Tidus wasn't grossed out by my blowing chunks his way.

I licked my lips. "Where are we?"

"We're with the Ronso."

I noticed a Ronso guarding the entrance with his arms crossed over his chest. He seemed to notice me looking at him because he grunted and left the room.

I turned my attention back to Tidus. "How did we get down here?"

"You got sick and passed out. I carried you the rest of the way down." He stopped to wince. "And at the bottom we were stopped by the Ronso. They weren't too happy to see me."

"It's been four years. I bet you gave them a heart attack." I smiled, trying to make light of the situation.

The former guardian rolled his eyes and snorted.

"It doesn't help that I look like this. I was almost torn to shreds!" He got up and retrieved a cup of water from a pitcher on the far side of the room. "I showed them that you needed help so they let me in." He helped me sit up and I hungrily drank from the cup, liking how the cool liquid traveled down my throat.

I noticed that I was dressed in the bare minimum. Having been stripped of all my dresspheres, I was left in my yellow and pink cotton pajama shorts with the same colored tank top with white trim. My chest was heavily bandaged from my rib injury. They didn't hurt at all at the moment.

Tidus seemed to notice me looking down at myself.

"You were fighting an infection and you re-fractured your ribs. You've been out for a week now."

My eyes widened in horror and I threw the fur skins off me and swung my legs over. I winced; the abrupt movements disturbing my ribs, making a sharp pain emerge.

"Hey take it easy!" Tidus chided, stopping me in my tracks. He helped me back in bed. "You're in no condition to go anywhere."

I couldn't believe we lost so much time, especially when I had a mission to accomplish.

"But we have to—"

"No," he commanded sternly. "You've done enough Rikku. It's time to rest."

He got up again to get me more water.

"You didn't have to push yourself with healing me in your condition," He said, eyes dark and serious.

I took the cup and looked at the way the water rippled. "I didn't want to lose you," I said softly, after a short silence. I didn't want to look at him. I didn't want to see his reaction to my words. Maybe it was because it was true, and I was embarrassed and ashamed to admit that he was my one chance at setting things right.

The sound of heavy foot steps cut the awkward silence short. I looked up to see Kimahri at the doorway, his tall statue already imposing an air of strength and seriousness as he walked in.

"I should get you something to eat," Tidus stammered, standing up. He walked past the Ronso, who watched him with piercing yellow eyes. I wasn't sure if Kimahri trusted Tidus yet. After all, the man did sort of just poofed into existence.

"Is Rikku better?" Kimahri finally asked once Tidus was gone.

I smiled, nodding.

"I feel a little sore," I said. "Thank you for treating my wounds and taking us in."

"At first Kimahri thought _he_ hurt you."

I shook my head vigorously. "Oh no! I was injured before I found him."

"He told me the story."

There was a pregnant pause in which I took a sip of water and Kimahri crossed his arms over his chest.

"Is it really him?"

Kimahri looked at me, his face a wall devoid of any emotion. "It smells like him, but different."

"How so?"

The Ronso put his arms down to his sides. "It is Tidus and something more, Kimahri not too sure. It might be time. He is mature now." He paused as if thinking. "But I smell no malice. I smell no darkness. He means no harm."

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding and nodded.

"But Kimahri think you should be careful, just in case."

"Does Yuna know?"

"No." He shook his head. "Ronso wanted to make sure first. After female ronso heal Rikku, Tidus never left Rikku's bedside. Kimahri not sure back then, so Kimahri kept ronso guard to watch him."

"And did anything happen?"

Kimahri shook his head again. "He just stayed by Rikku's side."

There was a small silence again.

"Should I call Yuna?" I asked, looking up to him. I wanted to know how quickly I should move into the nest step.

"No."

I blinked, a little aghast about his answer.

"Why not?"

"Kimahri thinks you should call Cid first. Rikku should be responsible daughter."

I pouted. He did have a point. Pops and Brother were probably worried about me.

"Does he know I'm here?"

"Yes. Kimahri called to let Cid know Rikku was injured, but safe. Cid let Rikku stay to heal."

"I'll call him. Then I'll call Yuna."

"Do not call Yuna," Kimahri said, with a bit of a growl in his voice.

"But why?" I asked, a little stunned that he would be angry at the prospect of Yuna knowing.

"Kimahri think it's best to not let Yuna know now. Yuna busy and will stress. Tidus is real. But we should all make sure he is real, for Yuna's sake."

I chewed my bottom lip and nodded. He was right. I just found Tidus and if I told Yuna and for some reason, Tidus ended up disappearing again before he got the chance to meet her, I wouldn't know how to handle the guilt of getting her hopes up. I would rather keep Yuna ignorant than make her go through Tidus fading away again.

"So what should I do? Should I risk taking him home to Besaid? Or should I just take him home with me?"

"It not for Kimahri to decide."

I looked down at my water. "Do you think Yuna wished him back?" I asked softly.

I was met with silence again.

"If Tidus is back," I heard Kimahri speak again. "He is back for a reason."

I let myself softly smile at that. If I could take away anything from that comment, it was the fact that Kimahri probably believed that Tidus was back for Yuna.

I opened my mouth to agree with Kimahri when Tidus came in with a tray.

"Hey, I hope you're hungry," the blonde said, bringing the tray over. Kimahri watched him as Tidus set everything up.

"Eat and rest Rikku," the Ronso said before turning around to make his exit.

"I can never seem to get him to warm up to me," Tidus said, looking at the door way.

"Don't worry about him."

He turned to look at me with a grin. "I got you some soup and some fruit."

I immediately dug in, the sight of food making my stomach rumble.

"So we've been here a week?" I asked in between spoonfuls.

Tidus sighed and closed his eyes as if trying to find the strength to deal with something. I giggled at his melodrama. He peeked from one eye to look at me, and smirked.

"It's been interesting," he said, turning his attention onto me.

"Ooooh, do tell."

"Well," he scooted his chair a little closer. "I had to show them I came in peace. So imagine me offering them to take a whiff."

I couldn't help but snort a laugh.

"So when they did, I thought I was in the clear. But boy was I wrong."

"What happened?"

"I was black listed from everything the first couple of days. They had you in a separate room, healing you. I demanded to see you and got rough with one of them."

"And you're still alive?" I asked in awe.

He laughed. "Yeah, I wasn't really thinking about that. I wanted to see if you were okay."

I finished my soup and drank some water.

"They finally let me in on the third day, but only with another ronso here since they didn't trust me. I've been here ever since."

"You didn't have to do that you know."

Tidus shook his head.

"I wanted to, because that's what friends are for."

I smiled, picking at a grape as my cheeks warmed a bit. I looked up at him to see him smirk and tossed a grape his way.

"Hey!" he managed to catch the grape and pop it in his mouth.

"So what now?"

I frowned after popping in a grape of my own and then groaned as I chewed.

"I have to call pops!"

* * *

Pop yelling at me through a comsphere wasn't any different from Pop yelling at me in person. He was still as loud and as acerbic as ever.

"I sent you out on an errand missy! I didn't send you to run around Zanarkand!" Pop bellowed.

"I know! But Buddy heard sphere waves and we decided to—"

"I don't give a damn _what _Buddy heard," he growled. "He could've heard Yevon was having a second coming! You were to go to Gippal and come straight home!"

"I know and I'm sorry."

"And you're hurt! Out of all the times to get hurt!"

I frowned. "Gee Pops, thanks for the concern. It's not like I could have stopped the dark bahumut all by my self or anything," I said dryly.

"Don't get fresh with me," he snapped. "You know why I'm angry Rikku. We're still in the process of building the city and you have too many projects going on to get careless."

"I know that okay!"

"Now I have some idiot who doesn't know the difference between his head and his ass taking over your projects!"

"Then get someone else!" I yelled, my eyebrow twitching.

"And to top it all off your brother's ship is on the fritz. The ship I gave him! My baby!"

I blinked, remembering how my radio and comphone got fried too.

"What?"

"It happened the day you disappeared. Buddy says it was some type of electrical storm. The ship went haywire. They barely made it out of the mountain on time."

Crap. That did not sound good.

"By the time they got home, the ship's computers were failing. It was miracle they just didn't fall out of the sky."

I winced. "How bad is it?" I asked, hoping that Brother didn't have a hernia. He loved that airship.

"Bad enough that even Shinra doesn't know what exactly happened. The boy rounded up a team to help fix it. It's the entire ship. Computers, engines, everything's gone to shit."

"That sucks."

"Brother and Buddy are helping in fixing it. When are you coming home?"

"Wait, so you're not sending someone to pick me up?"

"What the hell? No!"

"But I'm practically an invalid!" I whined. "Are you going to leave your baby girl alone to fend for herself?"

"You were a big girl when you were dilly-dallying in Zanarkand!"

"But Pops!"

"Don't you pops me! Everyone is tied up with building home and fixing the ship."

I sighed.

"How long will the ship take to get fixed?"

"A long ass time," he snipped, grouchily.

I pouted.

"But how am I supposed to get home?" I asked, doing my best wounded puppy dog look.

It didn't seem to work with Pop because he just scowled even harder, if that was possible.

"If you're so desperate for a ride, bum one off! Or buy a ticket home in the first city you hit," he suggested.

"But I don't have any gil!"

"You're a thief! Steal some! Yevon knows you stole gil from me all the damn time when you were a kid!"

"Fine!" I growled.

Pops sighed.

"Kimahri told me how hurt you were. Stay as long as you can to get better and then try to get home. I know there's a lot of work to be done here what with building and the airship going to crap, but I don't want you rushing to get here when you're injured. A cripple does us no good for work."

I smiled.

"You know pops, you had me with the tender moment until you called me a cripple."

"Yeah well, it's not like I can change ya. I would if I could. But as of now, be it cripple, stupid, ugly—"

"Pops!"

"—I love ya just the same."

I pouted again. Despite us fighting ninety-percent of the time I still loved the man.

"Are you planning traveling alone?"

I shook my head.

"I met up with a friend."

Pop raised an eyebrow, his lips frowning. "Who?"

I had to choose my answer carefully since Pops looked so suspicious. "An old friend, Clasko."

"You mean the chocobo punk? You might as well as travel alone!"

"Pops!" I complained with the nasally voice I knew grated on his nerves. "He's not a chocobo punk!"

"Whatever," he grunted. There was the sound of a crash from near by followed by people screaming "get out!"

Pop looked away from the comsphere, cursing in Al Bhed at someone.

"Listen, I gotta go. Some idiot managed to drive a tractor into a sinkhole. Call me as soon as you're better to tell me your travel plans."

"I will Pops," I said, nodding.

"_Damn it! Don't go in to help him! Make him climb out!_"

"Love ya Pops," I said, but the transmission ended before he got to hear it. I looked at the blue semi-sphere imbedded into the ground and sighed.

"So, my name is Clasko and I'm a chocobo punk?" Tidus asked, as he leaned against the mountain wall.

I looked up and laughed, nodding. He immediately came to help me stand up when I made an attempt to do so.

"Yup! That is your secret identity until I figure out how to get us home."

"I'm guessing Cid isn't happy about picking you up," he said wincing.

"Nope." I wrapped the fur skin tightly around me as we began to slowly walk around. Even if we ended up walking around in circles, I didn't care. Being bedridden for a week had made my body very soft and I wanted to stretch my legs a bit.

"It seems that the airship that I was riding on to get to Zanarkand hit the fritz after an electrical storm. My brother and his friend, Buddy, barely made out."

"That's really weird, I'm glad they made it out safely."

"After my battle with Bahamut I noticed my own stuff was on the fritz too. I thought that it was just my things because of the battle, though I have no real clue if he was responsible for the electrical storm that almost took the ship down."

"Maybe he was. You said he blew up right?"

"Yeah, but we were deep under ground."

Tidus shrugged, putting his hands behind his head in his trade mark pose. "It's a mystery then," he sighed.

I didn't like the way he was so nonchalant about it. It rubbed me the wrong way that he would take such a serious manner so easy, especially with how weird it all was. He didn't show any concern and for a moment I thought maybe he was the one behind it all. From those mysterious sphere waves that brought me to Zanarkand to the oversouled Dark Bahamut himself, they could have all been orchestrated by Tidus in some way.

"Is something wrong?"

I didn't notice that I'd stopped walking until I Tidus was way ahead of me, looking back with concerned eyes.

I shook my head, bashing those thoughts. "I'm fine," I said, smiling.

"So what's the next step?" he asked.

"Well, I have to heal up," I said, catching up. "Pops wants me to get better before going home. If I went home now, I'll just be in everyone's way."

"What's going on back at home?"

"Well, remember when I told you about Sin destroying our home? We're rebuilding it now, hoping more Al Bhed will move back. We're sort of spread out now, settling in different areas."

"Sound like you guys came a long way."

"I guess we have." I shrugged. "People are a bit more tolerant than before, but it doesn't mean we're still not hated."

We fell silent as we walked towards the exit of the mountain.

"So you're going home when you're done healing?" Tidus asked, chewing his bottom lip.

"No, _we're_ going home after I'm healed," I corrected. "I'm not leaving you behind."

"Figured out a way to get home? Cid sounded pretty much against picking you up."

"Well, I'm pretty much broke since I lost all my gil and airship tickets are pretty expensive." I sighed. "We're going to need to get to Belleve and figure out a way to earn some money for them."

"Or, if you're feeling better and are up to it…" He looked at his feet, shuffling at some rocks. "We can just hike back home."

I raised an eyebrow, my lips curving upwards in a smirk.

"F-forget I said anything!" he sputtered, his cheeks reddening. I couldn't help but laugh as he groaned at my amusement.

"You mean going on a pilgrimage, like way back when?"

He shook his head. "It's a dumb idea, I mean, what if you're not healed and something happens and I can't heal you and I can't—"

I cupped his face with my hands. "Tidus. I'll be fine," I softly said.

He inhaled sharply, deep blue eyes looking at me with a mixture of doubt and concern. He grabbed my wrists and let his hands side down my forearms before dropping his hands down to his sides in defeat.

I let him go.

"We should head back," he said quietly, walking past me to go back inside the compound.


End file.
